Are employers allowed to ask questions about previous salary history?

In Massachusetts, employers are not legally allowed to ask questions about previous salary history. This is part of the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, which was signed into law in 2016. Under the law, employers are banned from asking job applicants about their previous salary history, and from using that history in making decisions regarding the salary offers and wages they offer to those applicants. The law also prohibits employers from using prior salary history to decide how much they will pay current and future employees. Additionally, employers who violate the Equal Pay Act may face fines and other legal consequences. The Equal Pay Act was designed to help ensure that employers consider job qualifications and merit when making decisions about wages and job offers. The law is meant to make sure that employees are paid fairly for the same work, regardless of their gender or previous salary. The Equal Pay Act has been met with both support and criticism, but the goal of the law is clear: to provide fairness and equality in the workplace. This includes making sure employers do not make salary decisions based on previous salary history, but rather on the job qualifications of applicants.

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